New details of Thatcher coup plot

Margaret Thatcher was on sparkling form. Despite her frailty, she insisted on meeting all the guests at her son's lavish Christmas party. There were more than 70 of them, gathered around a sumptuous buffet laid out by the swimming pool at Mark Thatcher's sprawling mansion in Cape Town's Constantia suburb.

The guests, some of whom had flown in from London, were charmed by the iconic 78 yearold ex-prime minister who, according to one, displayed an irrepressible cheerfulness.

Baroness Thatcher might not have been so genial if she had known she was meeting the key plotters in a highly illegal plan to overthrow the president of an oil-rich African country. And she would have been distinctly unhappy if she had known that her beloved son Mark was to be accused of being at the heart of the plot - something he has strenuously denied.

An Evening Standard investigation into the Mark Thatcher affair reveals how a network of friends and social contacts were asked to invest money in the attempted coup. Some were never told the real story; others knew the details - and they were among Thatcher's Christmas guests.

The key figure was Thatcher's close friend Simon Mann, who drove to the party from his home in Hout Bay with his wife, Amanda. Mann is the charismatic Old Etonian, former SAS officer who was arrested in March with a band of mercenaries in Zimbabwe and accused of masterminding the plan to depose the president of Equatorial Guinea by force.

Our investigation reveals that Mann, 51, sought money to finance the coup from individuals in his influential social and business circle. Leaked legal documents show a payment of $134,980 (£74,000) was made to Mann's company, by a "J.H. Archer", four days before Mann was seized.

The initials are those of Lord Archer, the disgraced Conservative peer and bestselling author who is an old friend of Baroness Thatcher. His friendship with Eli Calil, a London-based businessman who has been accused of being involved in the coup attempt, goes back even further - more than 30 years.

Soon after Mark Thatcher's arrest yesterday, Lord Archer's lawyers sought to quell speculation that the peer might have been involved in bankrolling the mercenary operation and said in a statement that he had "no prior knowledge". His lawyers also denied he had issued a cheque for the amount shown on the bank statement from Mann's company. When it was pointed out the sum was paid by credit transfer, his legal spokesman said Lord Archer "considers the matter closed".

One person who admits being approached by Mann was Gianfranco Cicogna, a South Africabased telecoms tycoon. Mr Cicogna, who was once engaged to television presenter Tania Bryer, is a friend of socialite diarist Taki Theodoracopulous. He has a home in Chelsea and is well known in London society.

Mr Cicogna disclosed that he was approached by Mann this year: "I did not really appreciate the grandeur of their ideas," he said. Asked if he knew there was a plan to stage a coup he

said: "Not really. I don't think it crossed my mind."

He said he discussed investing $200,000 (£112,000) in a "project" in Equatorial Guinea, but never handed over any money: "What return that would have brought, I have no idea," he said. "We were going to meet again. Nothing of this was finalised."

He said he last saw Mann about a week before he was arrested in Zimbabwe. He first knew of the drama from newspaper reports.

Among those who chatted to Baroness Thatcher at the Christmas party in Cape Town was London-based entrepreneur Greg Wales, a friend of both Mark Thatcher and Mann.

Mr Wales, 54, who owns a large house in Richmond- Upon-Thames, revealed that Mann and Thatcher were discussing a secret business project last year: "It was their business, not mine," he said. He agreed he had talked about possible investments in Equatorial Guinea, but denied he had any knowledge of a coup attempt.

The government in Equatorial Guinea claims, however, he was a key player. A writ served in the High Court by lawyers acting for the regime, names Mr Wales as one of the plotters in the coup. It also names Mann and Lord Archer's friend, Mr Calil.

Mr Wales and Mr Calil have denied any involvement. According to documents seen by the Standard, however, Mann appears to have admitted his own part in the attempted coup.

In a statement made in jail in Harare, and apparently signed by him on every page, Mann said he made a trip to Gabon in January 2003 with Mr Wales and Gary Hersham, a leading figure in London's property world. He said the objective was to put a proposition to Gabon's president "whereby he could better regulate his oil industry". The proposal was declined. Gabon has a long-running territorial dispute with Equatorial Guinea.

In his statement, Mann said Mr Hersham later asked him to meet Mr Calil in London. After their first meeting, Mr Calil asked him to meet Severo Moto, Equatorial Guinea's exiled opposition leader. Mann said he later agreed to try to help Mr Moto return to Equatorial Guinea after an "uprising" against the present regime.

The plan was put into action, he said, with his "old acquaintance" Nick Du Toit.

Du Toit is in detention in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, after being arrested there with 14 other alleged coup conspirators as the plan unravelled after Mann's arrest.

Mann's statement forms part of the prosecution evidence against the alleged coup conspirators facing trial in Malabo. Du Toit has decided to give evidence for the prosecution and, according to him, he had discussions with Mark Thatcher about arms deals. He is still giving evidence. Mr Calil has made the point that allegations made against him have come from people who have been tortured.

And the London property man, Gary Hersham, gave only qualified support to Mann's version of events. It was true, Mr Hersham said, that he had travelled to Gabon with Mann and Mr Wales, but he had no knowledge of a coup plot. He said he knew Mr Calil, but he would not elaborate on the relationship.

According to hotel and airline records, seen by the Evening Standard, Simon Mann held business meetings at the Sandton Towers Hotel outside Johannesburg during a period when he was believed to have been planning the Equatorial Guinea adventure. Among the names on air tickets purchased by Mann's company, Logo Logistics, is that of David Tremain, a South Africa-based businessman who makes frequent trips to Britain.

Mr Tremain, who said he met Mark Thatcher "on a number of occasions", recalled meeting Du Toit and Mann, but said he was not part of the plot.

"I haven't been involved in any of it," he said. He said he had merely discussed the possibility of "mining ventures" in Africa.

Another name on the Sandton hotel records at the relevant time is that of Simon Witherspoon, a veteran mercenary. Witherspoon, 38, who served in the South African army, was arrested with Mann and 69 other mercenaries in Harare and is still in detention there.

One of the most puzzling elements about the Equatorial Guinea affair is why someone like Mann, a scion of the Watney brewing dynasty and a very wealthy individual with homes in Hampshire and South Africa, should want to involve himself in a coup attempt.

A possible answer is that he - and many of the other figures involved - have a lust for adventure. Another may be that the regime in Equatorial Guinea is notoriously corrupt and oppressive and he wished to overturn it. But documents found on Mann when he was arrested indicate another motive.

If the documents are genuine - and he has not denounced them - they suggest the coup, if successful, could have earned him millions of pounds. The papers comprise two formal agreements which outline rewards from Severo Moto and the Provisional Government of Equatorial Guinea. Both are signed by F. Mann (his second Christian name is Francis) but Moto's signature does not appear.

The proposed agreements guarantee $1 million (£550,000) to each of four of Mann's lieutenants. For Mann himself, there is a figure of $10 million (£5.5 million) to be paid in sterling. He also demands a diplomatic passport.

Now the best he can hope for is to escape a heavy jail sentence. Zimbabwe, under pressure from South Africa, has agreed not to extradite the mercenaries to Equatorial Guinea where they would have faced the death penalty.

Barrie Penrose is researching a book on the attempted coup. He said: "If this had worked, it would have been one of the poshest coups in history. Simon Mann, the well-connected Old Etonian ex-SAS officer, went around his well-heeled friends asking them if they wanted to invest in a little project. How much he told them about what he was planning is not clear. Some doubtless knew the full story, but others probably did not."

As she enchanted guests at Mark Thatcher's Christmas bash, Baroness Thatcher clearly knew nothing about what others were planning. But as South African police continue their investigation she may find herself asking: what did Mark know?